If any non-Indigenous player boycotted last week's Indigenous round there would have been outrage. Imagine if a player refused to acknowledge the histories and cultures of Indigenous peoples that were demonstrated on a national stage last weekend. Any player who showed disrespect would have been torn to pieces by the green left media. I can so easily envisage social commentators like Waleed Aly having an absolute field day about something like this. And perhaps they would have been right. Refusing to pay respect to Indigenous cultures would have been wrong and a huge middle fingle to the attempt by the NRL to create an inclusive playing environment. So why is it okay or at least tolerated if an Indigenous player refuses to sing the national anthem preceeding a major sporting event? I guarentee that if anyone does this they won't be targeted by the same commentators. They may even rationalise or excuse such behaviour. Can someone please explain the difference? I'm being serious I think this is a fair question.
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Mate, it's not a fair question at all!
I ask you, why would players boycott the indigenous round? On what basis? You need a reason. In comparison to - invasion of land/homes - ancestors/family killed - miss treatment - racism.
Shutup idiot and answer the question
I think my reply answers the question you wanker. But I do appreciate your intelligent reply on the topic. Deep thinker you are.
To protest against aboriginals whacking native wildlife over the head with clubs and boomerangs.
This post was always going to attract the racism within some.
My ancestor was killed by the indigenous. He was merely a Convict who was seeking refugee status ans they speared him for being in their country. I think it's fair that players should be given the chance to turn their back on GI receiving his pile of sticks tonight.
I can't stand this victim culture by some of these blokes.As none of them are full-blooded aborigines, do they despise their own white part, enough to punish it, by not accepting evil white-fella things like the fantastic money they get,the fame, the car they drive etc,and go back to nakedness and eating witchetty grubs? What group of people hasn't experienced horrors in the past? Most get on with life,as should these idiots.
The aboriginal players are saying that the anthem doesn't represent who they are so they are not going to sing it. I am just thankful we live in a country where people can voice a concern and not get persecuted by anyone....other than the deep thinkers on a football forum.
As you are a deep thinker,are they not Australian ?
Aboriginal people weren't considered Australian citizens till the 1967 referendum. So there are people alive today who were told " Sorry your not Australian" ok but now " Why aren't you proud to be an Australian?".
Nobody could be an " Australian" before Federation on Jan 1st 1901. Most people for most of our history have considered themselves british subjects first, Australian citizens second. Our longest serving PM Menzies spoke like a toff despite being brought up poor in Victoria.
If we help a referendum and changed the name of the country back to New Holland, nobody would be legally an Australian.
But I bet you'd still say you were an " Australian" based on shared cultural and social practices you have in common with others. A way of behaving, interacting and communcating with others learnt from the society in which you grew up. Welcome to the concept of cultural heritage!
Your " bloodedness" doesn't make you Australian ( Show me a true blue fullblooded "white" person, and I'll show you at best 4000 yrs of mongrel input) anymore than it does fir Aboriginal people.
And beautifully you can have more than one cultural heritage! You can be Irish Australian, Greek Australian, Vietnamese Australian etc based on the cultural ideas you have been exposed to.
The " victim culture" ( shitty phrase) might come from the fact that Australia ticks off every convention of what is considered the legal definition of Genocide in our historical treatment of Aboriginal people ( not to mention the for all intensive purposes total wiping out off Tasmanian Aboriginal people. Hitler tried to get rid of a population of people and he's rightly despise and decried, here in Oz we actually did it!)
We also rountinely get target by the UN for Indigenous communities existing in third world conditions. Indigenous health statistics, life expectancy, suicide rates, incarseration rates are all disproportionately outside other groups in Australian society.
This isn't Oz bashing though. Where ever you have a colonization situation it usually goes bad for the Indigenous group. French philosopher John-paul Satre went so far as to say " Colonialism equals Genocide". Same statistics basically corralate to native American communities.
Ever wondered why the Irish copped shit as lazy, dumb, trouble making drunkards? 700 years of colonization. Or why many Aboriginal people also have Irish ancestors? Both groups in early Australian history where marginalized and targeted by the English majority so they had lots of commonalities.
One young Irish Catholic in Australia even became a national hero and martyr for standing up against injustice towards his people by thecmajority population. When he said " Such is life" he meant such is the lot of the poor irish to die at the hands of an oppressive majority English.
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